Finding Fiction Friday - Jane Linfoot

Today, fresh off of yesterday's book launch, I'm very excited to have Jane Linfoot, author of the new novel High Heels and Bicycle Wheels from HarperImpulse.  First, a bit about Jane ...

Jane Linfoot writes fun, flirty fiction, with feisty heroines and a bit of an edge. She lives with her family and pets in Derbyshire UK, and loves hearts, flowers, happy endings, everything vintage, and most things French.

Jane, when did you first think about writing for publication?

I first had chance to write romance for publication when the property crash hit the UK, back in 2010. At the time I was working as an architect and property developer, and as the work slowed down I decided to get on and write that novel I’d always dreamed of.

Tell us one thing about yourself that you think might surprise us.

I speak fluent French, with a specialist agricultural vocabulary, a hangover from when I was officially a French farmer.....not many French teachers know the word for combine harvester – it’s moissonneuse batteuse if you want to catch them out!

You call your home a “mountain kingdom”.  Can you tell us a bit about it?

I live in Matlock Bath which is a Georgian Spa resort, built in the Derwent Gorge. I live in a tiny hamlet towards the top of the hill, reached by a very narrow, very steep, mile long single track road. I call it a mountain kingdom, (with a winky eye), because it does have a kind of hidden, fairy tale quality. It’s not so good if you go out and forget something, or when it snows and there’s a mile of road to clear, and it is quite a muddy place. But the views down the valley are lovely, and it’s very quiet and rural up above the bustle down below. It’s great because we can walk straight out into the woods for dog walks, and there’s a local herd of dairy cows who wander past the garden on their way to their field, yet there’s a station and a main road at the bottom of the hill.

Available now on Amazon UK
and Amazon US

It’s the day after Release Day for you, congratulations!  Tell us about your new release “High Heels & Bicycle Wheels”.

I am SO excited about High Heels & Bicycle Wheels going out into the world, because it’s a much longer book than my previous ones. It’s sexy summer chicklit – think camper vans, beaches, long hot days....and a feisty TV production assistant Bryony, possibly the least sporty girl on the planet, who winds up on a tandem ride with a hot, hot pro cycling star called Jackson. There’s heaps of fun, lots of clashes, a whole stack of emotion....oh, and it’s sizzling hot too.

You definitely have a fun and flirty streak in you, even in your titles (“The Right Side of Mr. Wrong”, “How to Win a Guy in 10 Dates”).  Are your characters anything like you?  Do you draw on experiences of yourself or others?

Well, in High Heels & Bicycle Wheels, Bryony screams when she goes downhill on a tandem, and I have been known to do the same.... And Shea, in The Right Side Of Mr. Wrong has long curly hair which refuses to be tamed, and I know how that feels.... So fragments of me and my life are implanted in my characters, but mostly they are very much themselves. Bryony has way more shoes than I do – yes, I am soooo jealous of her shoe collection – and she eats way more cupcakes than me. Am I fun and flirty? You’ll have to ask my friends that!

If there is one character you’ve written or are writing that you would really like people to meet, who would it be and why?

I’d like ALL my readers to be able to meet the hero of their choice....there’s quite a lot of book-boyfriend love going on out there for the guys I write about, so being able to arrange some real life meetings would be totally awesome.

What about being published with HarperImpulse and the book industry in general has most surprised you?

I had no idea that the team at HarperImpulse would be so lovely and warm and special and endlessly helpful. Charlotte Ledger is beyond awesome, and Katie Sadler and Alex Aldern are wonderful too. I was surprised that their working relationship with authors is so close – I didn’t know I’d be allowed so much input in decision making.

Is there someone you can point to as being your biggest encouragement in moving forward with writing?

Joining the Mills and Boon New Voices Facebook Group, in conjunction with the 2012 competition, was my most helpful step in writing romance. This group was very active, and was made up of both published authors and hopeful writers, many of whom have had huge success since. I wasn’t eligible to enter the competition, but I learned so much from the articles and information the group members shared, and it was my first experience of the brilliantly supportive romance writing community. So, this is a big shout out for all the members of that community, and the help and encouragement I received from them.

What other things do you have bouncing around in your head for the future?

There are SO many stories in my head which are all fighting to be told, and I’m also excited that Harper Impulse will allow their authors to try new and different things.

To close the interview, I have ten questions for you.  Here they go!

1. What is your favorite word? Oxymoron - I like the sound of the word itself, and I enjoy the contradictions it implies 
2. What is your least favorite word? I hate anyone saying they’re “bored”
3. What turns you on? Fabulous design and creativity, and I include stories in that.
4. What turns you off? I’m useless when I’m cold
5. What sound or noise do you love? I love to hear my cat Umberto’s purring croon – he’s got a huge purr, but a while back he had a head injury, when he fell off the shed roof, and he lost his purr – so it’s lovely to hear it now that it’s come back
6. What sound or noise do you hate? I hate whispering and low voices 
7. What is your favorite curse word? Holy crap – it began tongue in cheek, and kind of stuck – holy crap to that too
8. What profession other than your own would you like to attempt? Jewelry design sounds cool, or lingerie design, or maybe working in TV might be fun.
9. What profession would you not like to do? Apart from decorating, I find anything to do with maintenance pretty tedious –  I much prefer creating.
10. If heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the pearly gates? ‘The library is that way, you’ll find the sun loungers in the garden, your friends are waiting for you, help yourself to red wine....’ or ‘Yours is the house with lots of glass....’

Jane, thanks so much for spending time with us.  Can you let us know where to follow you, and where we can go to purchase your books?

You can find me here:

Facebook Page and Profile

Twitter

Website

And find buy links to all my books at HarperImpulse